Following an embarrassing six-goal loss a night earlier to the Western Conference's worst team, the Avalanche required a rally Friday night to avoid losing to a similarly weak team and bowing twice in Alberta.

Amid a cold spell that dipped thermometers to minus-38 degrees Friday morning, Colorado answered the bell in this Canadian province, beating the Calgary Flames 3-2.

The victory came after an 8-2 loss Thursday in the closest big city to the north, Edmonton.

"I was hoping we could put (Edmonton) behind us and come back here tonight with a big effort and that's what we did," Avs coach Patrick Roy said. "It was an important win for us."

Calgary and Edmonton are tied with a conference-low 10 wins. Colorado, which concludes its three-game road trip Sunday at Vancouver, reached its 20th victory in its 27th game.

"Good teams have short memories on both sides of the win-loss column," Avs center Matt Duchene said. "We were upset with our effort at Edmonton, but you move on right away. Same thing now. We'll enjoy this one on the plane tonight but get back to work in Vancouver (on Saturday)."

Avs third-line winger Max Talbot scored and assisted on second-period goals, and rookie Nathan MacKinnon struck for his sixth goal of the season early in the third for a 3-1 lead.